Winter Sunrise
by engleking3
Summary: Zeno is a moderately popular guy drawn into a bad joke with his friend Gumo and Gumi over sending a series of fake love letters to Rin Kagamine who seems to dislike the attention and hate Zeno because of it, who is seemingly infatuated with Luka Megurine. However when Rin shows her true feelings for Zeno, what will he think? P.S. I don't own Vocaloid or its produced characters.
1. Triple Dog Dare

Chapter one: Triple Dog Dare

"What to do…What to do" Zeno said to himself while walking home. There was no one on the sidewalk to see the various expressions that he seemed to be making to himself. He was tinkering with his IPod Touch all the way home, listening to Disturbed's 'Indestructible' Zeno seemed to feel much more alive when listening to rock which he preferably called heavy metal since it seemed that way to him most of the time. Thinking on his 'to do' list Zeno made a hand gesture reaching into his back pocket to pull out a letter he wrote for Rin Kagamine on a dare from his friend Gumo and his sister Gumi. Rereading what he wrote to Rin, Zeno giggled to himself lightly about the whole situation, "This is the last thing that I am writing to that girl…She's cute and I have always been attracted to blondes…but I'm after a greater prize than Rin Kagamine." Zeno smiled to himself triumphantly.

_Luka Megurine._

Zeno thought about the strawberry-crème haired girl for several moments before turning right on the next block. On this block stood Len and Rin's house, their parents had been away for several months…so they were home alone most of the time. Walking down the street Zeno saw Len leaning outside the concrete gate of his house with his face buried in his IPhone. "Oh! Hello Len I glad to see you!" Zeno said greeting the young blond man, "I hope I didn't bother you or anything to that effect."

"No no…you didn't disturb me at all Zeno. You here to see Rin?" asked Len with a smirk on his face. "I just wanted to give her a letter that I wrote to her…it's quite private." Len putting his IPhone in his pocket turned to Zeno. "I know all about it Zeno…It's fun to see that my little sister has an admirer that is so noble." complimented Len and the compliment was a genuine one. "Well here." Zeno pulled out the letter to give it to Len, "Could you just give it to her then…I don't want her to know that I came by." remarked Zeno. Len smiled, "Hey don't worry about it, I'll just I got it from you earlier today…ok?"

"Thanks Len I owe you one." Replied Zeno smiling back to Len before continuing to walk home. Zeno home was small two bedrooms, one guest room, two bathrooms, living room, kitchen, and a computer room. Having unlocked the door to his house, Zeno took off his shoes, grabbed a bag of pretzels, and walking to the computer room, closed the door behind him. His parents weren't home and wouldn't be home for about three weeks. "Plenty of time to get some writing done." Zeno said to himself, the busy days of dealing with his parents didn't leave Zeno enough time to write and Zeno took precautions as to not waste the time that was given to him. "And the preoccupation with this dare Gumo and Gumi gave me has wasted even more time for me." He retorted.

Zeno wrote for three hours before finishing up what he wanted to write, he was exceptionally fast when it came to writing, and everybody was usually impressed by this.

His cell vibrated on the computer with near perfect timing. "Hello?" asked Zeno picking up his cell. "Zeno! Oh great you picked up!" replied Gumi on the other end. "Oh hello Gumi I didn't expect you to call at this time." Zeno said in a blank tone. "I just wanted to call and see how it went." Zeno tried to sound confused, "How what went…" "Did you give Rin the letter?" questioned Gumi. "I gave the letter to Len whose going to give it to her." Replied Zeno, "Oh! You should have gave it to her yourself Zeno, then she'll know you care."

_But I don't that's the point. _Zeno said inside obviously annoyed at Gumi for bring the whole subject up. "Gumi I don't care about Rin, She's nice and sweet, but I don't care for her in that way." _This joke's gone too far._ Zeno thought to himself, "And besides…" he continued "I'm done playing this game, I thought it was fun at first but it is getting annoying…I'm tired of being spit on by her for no reason…she basically despises me in every way and form because of this Gumi…this was the last letter I was to give to her and you two agreed remember?"

"I haven't forgot Zeno…I just don't think the fun should end." Gumi said through the phone in a calm voice. "Well the fun's over for me…okay." Said Zeno. "I understand Zeno I understand I'll tell Gumo everything that happened…everything went well though right?" asked Gumi one last time." "Yes everything went accordingly." Replied Zeno sophisticatedly. "Good" Gumi said before hanging up. Zeno put the cell down on the computer desk in frustration, "At least the joke is over I was beginning to tire of it very quickly." He said to himself leaning back in the computer chair. "I better put this stuff away." Getting up Zeno cleaned off the computer desk and picked up the bag of pretzels. Putting them back in the pantry, Zeno going into his room slipped on lounging clothes and sat on his bed looking out of the window onto the street. The night was cool and crisp and Zeno enjoyed the weather.

Closing the window Zeno took out his IPod Touch, which was fully charged, _That's good_ Zeno thought. Pulling out the headphones Zeno inserted the IPod Touch into a set of Apple IPod speakers sitting on the nightstand next to his bed. Turning the speakers on, Zeno flipped through the songs on his music list. "I'll choose…this one." Zeno said, hitting the play button, deciding on 'Running Up That Hill' by Placebo. Zeno sat up against the wall next to the window, listening to the music…allowing the words to flow through him.

_It doesn't hurt me._

_You wanna feel how it feels?_

_You wanna know, know that it doesn't hurt me?_

_You wanna hear about the deal I'm making?_

_You be running up that hill_

_You and me be running up that hill._

_And if I only could,_

_Make a deal with God,_

_And get him to swap our places,_

_Be running up that road,_

_Be running up that hill,_

_Be running up that building._

_If I only could, oh..._

_You don't want to hurt me,_

_But see how deep the bullet lies._

_Unaware that I'm tearing you asunder._

_There is thunder in our hearts, baby._

_So much hate for the ones we love?_

_Tell me, we both matter, don't we?_

_You, be running up that hill_

_You and me, be running up that hill_

_You and me won't be unhappy._

_And if I only could,_

_Make a deal with God,_

_And get him to swap our places,_

_Be running up that road,_

_Be running up that hill,_

_Be running up that building,_

_If I only could, oh..._

_'C'mon, baby, c'mon, c'mon, darling,_

_Let me steal this moment from you now._

_C'mon, angel, c'mon, c'mon, darling,_

_Let's exchange the experience, oh...'_

_And if I only could,_

_Make a deal with God,_

_And get him to swap our places,_

_Be running up that road,_

_Be running up that hill,_

_With no problems_

_'If I only could, be running up that hill.'_

Zeno listening to the song with tranquil peace thought and dreamt about Luka Megurine and the deep infatuation he had with her. With the lyrics of the song running through his head Zeno fell to sleep soundly dreaming about his beloved Luka.


	2. A Close Encounter

Chapter two: A Close Encounter

"Hello Zeno." said Gumi to Zeno who seemed to be leaning up against his locker in deep thought. "Hey Gumi, how was class?" replied Zeno with little attention to Gumi who was standing next to him, "Terrible we had a quiz that I didn't study up for." returned Gumi frustrated and annoyed. "Maybe you shouldn't have tried to call me for an update, you could have study more." Zeno said sarcastically opening his locker and grabbing his backpack out of it. "Well this is more important." said Gumi, "Did you see Rin today?" "No and I don't want to any time soon, like I told you yesterday because of these letters she hates me and I didn't do anything to her before this whole thing was started up by you and your brother." retorted Zeno angrily toward Gumi who looked at him in surprise, "Well you went along with it, we never forced you to do it." said Gumi, "I know, it just still frustrates me though, I frustrated myself I know that." Softening his composure Zeno spoke, "Sorry Gumi I know I shouldn't take my frustrations out on you." Gumi smiled "Its fine."

"Where's Gumo I thought he would be with you?" asked Zeno, "Oh him? Gumo went ahead he wanted to get home so he could start his work; he's fanatical about getting stuff done early. "Oh I kind of wanted to speak with him." returned Zeno with disappointment "I'll give him the message." smiled Gumi not wanting to see her friend disappointed. Looking down the hall, Gumi saw someone else who she knew would cheer Zeno up. "Luka's coming this way." Gumi announced in a whisper.

"Hello Gumi and Zeno are you two still here?" asked Luka in a tone that mixed annoyance with happiness together. "Hi Luka!" Zeno said give the pink haired girl a warm tight hug which she seemed to enjoy thoroughly. "Hello Luka, sorry I can't stay any longer but I have to catch up with Gumo he left a while before me so I got to go. See you guys tomorrow." said Gumi who gave Zeno the sign to call her tonight if he wanted to." _No I'm not doing that again _Zeno thought to himself. He turned to Luka, "What were you doing all day?" he asked, "Nothing but track and field…the teachers have been working us to the bone lately and its not helping us at all…I just don't see why they have to keep pushing us nonstop if weren't not learning or improving." replied Luka smiling at Zeno whom she considered to be her best friend.

"Well then just stop doing track and field if you're so frustrated with it." Zeno commented, "I don't want to stop doing it, the benefits outweigh the consequences that's why I do it, I'm more active if I'm doing this stuff than if I wasn't doing it at all." returned Luka, "You heading home now?" She continued. Zeno let out a heavy sigh, "No I'm staying behind today to help clean up the classrooms and then I'll head home…you know volunteer work besides I need something else to keep me busy." Luka adjusted the strap of her backpack, "Here give it to me." said Zeno holding out his hand Luka handed over her backpack for a few moments. "Thanks." Luka said fixing her hair, "Too bad I was hoping you would come over and we could hang out or something like that." _I was hoping for that too_, Zeno thought to himself. "What no one else wanted to spend time with you?" Zeno chuckled; Luka however didn't find it so funny, her smile curved into a frown, "Do you find me that pointless?" she asked him upset.

Zeno regretting the statement gave her another tight hug, "That was my fault." he said to her, "Sorry I had a rough day." returned Luka, "I shouldn't have said it, you seemed more tense when you were coming over here." Zeno pointed out.

"Yeah." Luka said looking at Zeno, "Hey Zeno do you mind giving me my backpack back I'm going to head home now I really have to get out of here." Luka said, "Sure is there anything that I can do?" asked Zeno giving Luka her backpack, "Just come over sometime we haven't hung out together in a while and we should do something…there's really nothing much to do alone in this city right?" said Luka with a slight smile, "Of course." Zeno said smiling back to her.

He watched Luka as she walked down the extensive hall and out of the school. After Luka left school, the only thing left in Zeno's mind was to get the work done, not that he minded doing volunteer work but the day drained almost every ounce of energy out of him that he didn't feel like doing any more work. He messed around with his locker for a few minutes before going off to complete the work. All he really had to do was clear of the blackboards and sweep up the floors. _It shouldn't take more than an hour_ Zeno told himself, he was usually very quick about such work since there was nothing else to do in the meantime but work.

Zeno thought he would be doing such after school work by himself before he heard a familiar voice call out his name, "Hey Zeno you're here too?" Zeno turned his head in the direction of the voice and saw Len, "I thought I was the only one going to be here after school hours." laughed Zeno "are you here by yourself?" he asked "No Rin is here with me." A slight look of dread came over Zeno facial features, eager to ask for no apparent reason he said, "Did you give her the letter?" Len walked over to Zeno, "Oh yeah she was very intrigued by what you had to say in the letter I didn't read it since she wouldn't let me but she told me that she wanted to talk to you about it."

"Me!?" Zeno said, not wanting to be berated by Rin one more time, he was tired of it…he was tired of it all. "Don't worry I'll vouch for you dude." Len said to Zeno, "Don't get so worked up about it." Zeno trusted Len's words…he really did. Zeno walked with Len to the room that they were working in. "So are you guys doing volunteer work too?" questioned Zeno. "No" Len said, "We got caught goofing off in class you know how it is." Len said, "Are you saying that I am one to goof off most of the time?" teased Zeno, "Oh no but you know what I meant by that." Len said twiddling with his fingers, "You can't really make assumptions like that Len maybe that's why you got in trouble." Zeno returned; Len chuckled at this statement.

Arriving at the door of the room Len pulled open the sliding door to reveal a neat room with geography maps everywhere. Near the teachers desk stood a young girl who looked very similar to Len leaning on the desk who seemed to be organizing the drawers and clearing all the junk that seemed to be piled on top of the desk. "Wow Rin are you almost done here?" he asked his sister in surprise, "Yeah no thanks to you…where'd you go off to?" Len giggled "I went to the bathroom and look who I found." _Why did he say that? _Zeno scowled in the back of his mind.

Rin directed her eyes toward Zeno and looking intrigued licked her lips, saying nothing directly to her brother's friend, "Well let's get to work then if we are to get this done quickly." was all Rin said to them.

Though they were all very quick with the work, it took up to three hours before they were finished. While Len and Zeno chatted the time away Rin stayed quiet the entire time making Zeno feel very uncomfortable being in the same room as her. "It seems like we are finished here don't you think so?" Rin finally said apparently to both of them. They were in a different room by the time they finished up. "I would think so." Len replied; Zeno felt like he dare no say a word or he would get yelled or become the blunt of Rin's anger that he thought was building up inside her. Wanting to leave as fast as possible in order to get away from her he said, "If that is all then I will be going I feel like I need to get home or I'm not going to make it." Zeno said trying to smile.

He didn't expect the next words, "Zeno would you mind staying behind I want to talk about what you gave me yesterday." Rin asked saying the first direct words to him the whole time. "Ummm…okay." Zeno said not really wanting to stay; _Its not really going to solve anything if I run away anyway right? _ He logically said to himself. Len noticed the sudden tension in the room and took the opportunity to leave the room. "Hey Rin are you going to okay because I thought about heading home is that okay with you?" he asked; "Sure I'll be fine here" Rin replied to her twin brother, _Yeah but I won't_ Zeno told himself "You can go on home and I'll catch up with you later." Rin said; _Len don't leave me. _Zeno pleaded to Len mentally in a last ditch effort to keep him around even though he knew it wouldn't work. "Sure I'll see you when you get home." said Len before leaving the room, "See you later Zeno." Len said with a smirk to his friend. _Traitor! _screamed Zeno mentally.

Len having exited the room left Zeno at the mercy of his little sister Rin. "So what have you got to say to me?" asked Rin, Zeno was scared to reply but think to himself for several moments drew up the courage to answer the only other person in the room. "Well what did you think about it?" referring to the letter. Rin seemed to be somewhat angry at Zeno who was leaning on the front of a desk. She took slow steps towards him, Zeno took deep breathes took keep his cool. Staying in front of him she looked at him intensely, "Close your eyes." Rin commanded, _Oh no here it comes._ Zeno feared.

Rin pressed her lips against Zeno's and wrapped her arms around his neck. _SHE'S KISSING ME! I DON'T UNDERTSAND ANYTHING!_ Zeno's thoughts screamed in his head. He opened his eyes and broke from her embrace. Rin pouted, "Why did you do that?" she asked upset at this turn of events. "Why do you mean?" Zeno shouted at Rin confused, "I thought you hated me, what is going on!?" Rin put a finger to her mouth before speaking, "Oh! I did at one point I can admit that but what does it matter now we're alone and we're together now isn't that what you wanted?" she asked. Zeno unfortunately understood what she meant by this, he made the same remark in many of the letters that he penned to her as a result of the game but he never thought it would get this far…he didn't even believe that Rin would take it this seriously!

_Is she serious? How is it that she believing all this…not even I believed it!_ Zeno continued in his mental tirade. Observing her expression all traces of former anger seemed to dissipate instantaneously leaving behind only the core of feminine bubbly innocence. "Zeno I just want to talk okay will you listen to me?" she said, Zeno thought about it for a minute before answering, "Okay." he replied with reluctance. "I won't keep you long I just want you to know how I feel about you since you have shown me how much you actually do care about me." she said in a remarkably happy voice that unsettled Zeno, _Care about you? Sorry Rin but you got it all wrong._ Zeno thought to himself. "Rin, I care about you, I do but we should only be friends…at least for now." _For Now! Why did I say that!_ He did care about Rin which came from the fact that she was Len's twin sister, he didn't know much about her nor did he ever once hang out with her apart from being with her brother. Rin moved close to him, "Okay Zeno we'll take it slow if that's what you want." Rin said to him in a soft voice, "And we'll be friends first…best friends." She smiled brightly to him, _Whoaaaaa! Clingy much. _thought Zeno.

"Rin I got to go its getting dark out." said Zeno looking out the window, "Ohhhh! We won't have much time together then." said Rin scowling at the night, "Fine." she sighed; Zeno turned to go out. Not wanting the man she loved to leave so quickly Rin held him back by his arm. "Kiss me before you leave Zeno, I think I deserve that you know, its courtesy." remarked the desperate Rin, _You really think you deserve that._ said Zeno to himself; pausing for a moment he continued this inner dialogue, _but then again it was nice and her lips were soft…and it feels good to have some power and control over this situation…not that I would try to abuse it either. _Turning to Rin he said, "Okay if that is what you want from me." Rin lit up with delight. Being more careful this time Rin let Zeno take the lead in this kiss wanting to see how well he control the situation, He parted her mouth with his tongue, she didn't expected him to French-kiss her which came as a total shock and surprise to her. Rin felt like her body was melting. _He's mine; He's finally mine…forever mine. _Rin mentally screamed with excitement.

Parting from her lips, Zeno looked at Rin who seemed to be in ecstasy, asking "Are you satisfied?" standing on her feet Rin bit the bottom of her lip and replied, "Yes."

"Well then it seems that I must be going…would you like me to walk you home?" Zeno offered in order to show some courtesy and nobility." Rin blushed, "Oh no I should be fine you just gone on home…okay?" Zeno looked at her slightly confused, "Okay then see you later Rin." he said turning and walking out waved at her from behind.

After Zeno left to go home Rin began to gather her things to head home but the only thing that was truly on her was what she was telling herself, _He is an excellent kisser!_

Having entered his house at such a late hour, Zeno dropped his backpack on the floor on his bedroom and fell on the bed in exhaustion and confusion, _Did I just French kiss Rin Kagamine?_ he asked himself trying to think everything through in his mind, _WAIT! IS SHE IN LOVE WITH ME!_ Putting these thoughts aside Zeno fell asleep on his bed with only one thought in mind.

_I am not going to school._


	3. Numbers

Chapter three: Numbers

Zeno woke early the next morning surprised that he did not see as long as he thought he would. Getting out of bed he walked into the bathroom thinking that a shower would wake him up. As he took a shower the only thoughts that raced through his mind were of his engagement with Rin and all that took place the night before.

_'Kiss me before you leave Zeno, I think I deserve that you know, its courtesy'. _ Her voice ran through his mind, those words although seemingly innocence pressed on his mind. "Seriously! That all happened!" Zeno said to himself listening to the rushing water hit his body as he thought to himself. "Well at least I won't have to deal with any craziness today." said Zeno closing his eyes and smirking. Turning the valve water off he grabbed a towel dried off and putting a t-shirt and jeans on. Sitting on his bed, the young man lifted through his cell phone and saw a number of text messages from Gumi. Flipping through the list of messages, Zeno checked the most recent message Gumi wrote him which was sent around eight o'clock. Checking the clock on the wall he saw it was nine o'clock. Opening the message he read the contents:

Text:

Zeno! You didn't call me last night. I thought I told you to call me. I heard you were doing after school work with Len and Rin and I want to all that happened!

—Gumi

"And how do you know something happened?" he texted in reply knowing that she would get it three hours. "I need to get an IPhone." Zeno said to himself out loud. Putting the backpack on the bed, he emptied it out putting his school books on his dresser and grabbing his laptop and IPod Touch; he slipped the devices in the backpack and walked out of the bedroom. Walking down the stairs Zeno entered the kitchen and walking up to a small desk opened one of the drawers and pulled out a black wallet. "Wallet…check." he murmured to himself. Going out the through the kitchen door Zeno locked the door to the house, put the keys in his backpack and wanted out onto the sidewalk.

* * *

The bell rang loudly to signal that class had ended. While most of the class began to pack up their books and supplies, Rin was drawing very intensely on a piece of paper with a smile on her face. "Hey Rin what are you drawing?" asked her brother inquiringly. "Oh nothing too important." replied Rin picking up her head to look at Len. Rin picked her small backpack and unzipped the largest pocket putting her notebook inside and then closing it up, followed Len outside of the classroom. Walking through the halls of the school Rin's eyes darted back and forth rapidly. Len noticing his sister's somewhat agitated movements, "Hey Len did you see Zeno this morning?" asked Rin. "Zeno? Hmmm no I haven't seen him all day and I have most of my classes with him." Rin frowned, "Are you SURE you didn't see him." Rin asked him again, "No I told you I haven't, why are so fixated with him." asked Len, "I just wanted to know if he was here today." said Rin.

Seeing Gumi who walked by them Rin said, "I'll be right back I want to do something okay?" "Okay" Len replied and kept on walking. Wandering down the hall Rin saw Gumi at her locker, "Hey Gumi, I wanted to ask you for a favor." said Rin to Gumi who looked up in Rin's direction. "Sure what is it." said Gumi, Rin's face became somewhat flushed, "Do you have Zeno's number?" she asked in partial embarrassment, "Sure what do you want it for" asked Gumi while she went through her contact list on her cell phone. "Well we decided to become friends and he isn't here so I wanted to see if you could lend me his number since you're one of the few people who actually has it." Rin said, "Of course." Gumi replied handing over her cell phone to Rin so that she could add Zeno's contact to her phone. After copying the number into her phone Rin put the cell in her pocket, "Thanks Gumi, sorry for bothering you I'll see you later."

"Rin, did you see Zeno yesterday?" inquired Gumi, "Yeah he was helping to clean up some of the classrooms after schools. Why do you ask?" questioned Rin, "I just wanted to know." replied Gumi. _Why do you want to know? _sneered Rin to herself about Gumi. "Sorry but I have to go thanks again for the help." she said not wanting her suspicion to show in front of Gumi who only said in return, "You're welcome."

Rin rushed away quickly, walking down the hall she tried to think whether she forgot anything in her locker before she was going to head home. Pausing to think for a moment she decided that she had everything…well concerning Rin she had almost everything she needed. Walking slowly down the school steps she continued on home. Rin came to Tashi park which she usually passed everyday and her way to school. Taking a shortcut through the park Rin sat down on a bench. Putting her backpack next to her, Rin crossed her legs on the bench and sat in deep thought.

Having no desire to return home so soon, Rin took her out her phone and was about to send a text to Len before deciding against it. She had been down all day except at the end of the school day and she knew why she felt this way.

_'It's my fault…it's all my fault!' _Rin thought chastising herself, '_Probably if I wasn't so indifferent to his advances before he would already love me.'_ she continued ranting in her brain, '_What a terrible person I was to him and he only wanted to love me! How terrible I am!'_ These words circulated in her mind various times…tormenting poor Rin.

The once bright sky became cloudy and dampened Rin's mood even more. She hadn't worn a jacket today and from the look of the sky it was most definitely going to rain...and rain hard. However Rin in the mood that she was in could care less about the weather…she was more concerned with…or consumed with thoughts about Zeno. She had had various recurring thoughts about him ever since she received that first letter from him. However ever since yesterday when he kissed her, her thoughts have been more intense...much more intense than before. Getting up from the bench Rin grabbed her backpack and continued her way home. While she was walking it began to rain and the stone ground became wet with moisture. Rin suddenly broke out in sobs as she became drenched in the rain; however this helped to obscure the fact that Rin was crying because the rain washed the tears from her eyes. Soaked in rain water Rin wandered home…endlessly thinking about Zeno.


	4. Thoughts and Memories

Chapter four: Thoughts and Memories

Rin had walked around the rain for what seemed like hours; the rain having drenched her entire body made her very cold. By this time the only focus on her mind was getting home…a nice warm home. _I should be close to home by now_ said Rin to herself. She could see clear enough however the heat in the air and the moisture began to create a sheet of mist that began to blur her vision somewhat along the way. Seeing the end of the sidewalk in front of her, Rin turning the block went the wrong way and instead of turning right to cross the street she turned left on the wrong side of the block and continued down the sidewalk. Having walked home on the opposite side of the street since she left Tashi Park.

The rain began to let up and the clouds dissipated revealing behind the cloudy blanket a dark blue sky. After a few moments thinking to herself about where she was, Rin realized that she was walking down the wrong sidewalk. "Oh wait, my house is that way." Rin told herself turning in the direction behind her. Adjusting her gait as to walk back in the direction she came from, Rin sneezed into her sleeve. "Great now I'm sick!" she said before sneezing again into her sleeve.

Walking back down the sidewalk from the way she came and crossing the street on the white painted rectangles. Rin came to the gate of her house and walking through it went into the house. Closing the door behind her, Rin slipped off her wet shoes and went into the living room to see if her brother was in there. Sure enough he was, sitting on the couch watching television. "Hey Rin your back later than I expected." said Len when he saw her, "Yeah I got caught up in the rainstorm." returned Rin messing with her wet hair. "I can see that." Len noted with a chuckle, "You okay?" he continued. "Yeah I'm fine I'm going to take a shower and then go to bed." said Rin. "You sure?" asked Len, "Yeah I'm fine." replied Rin going upstairs.

Taking a shower which she thought the most refreshing thing in the world at the moment having been stuck in cold rain for about an hour. Rin wrapping herself in a towel walked to her room and closed the door behind her. Searching through her small dresser, Rin put on a pair of pajama pants and a bra and felt refreshed. Sitting on her bed she took out a diary from under the mattress and grabbing a pen from the drawer of her nightstand opened to a clean new page and began to write her thoughts on that day:

13/04/20XX

Dear diary,

Today seemed so long, there was so much work that we had to do today it was overwhelming. I had hoped to catch a break but sadly that never came to be…I wanted to see Zeno today…but he wasn't at school…how unfortunate that is! It seems that nobody saw him either. But by a stroke of luck and a little effort though I got his phone number from Gumi…teehee. Another thing that is unfortunate is I got caught in the rain coming home and now it looks like I'm going to be sick for a while. Having taken a shower though I feel much better although yesterday pretty much made my week since I finally got Zeno to kiss me…I know I hated him somewhat before but I'm capable of loving a person like any other woman right? I hope I haven't scared him away from me…or…I dread writing this…drove him into the arms of another woman. Oh! I hope I haven't done that. No! That will never happen. Never! Never! NEVER! I love him soooo much. Zeno + Rin Forever!

Love,

Rin

Rin lifted up the pen from the page of the dairy having completed the dairy entry for that day, scanning through what she wrote she noticed the heavy marks that she made on some words. Aware of the unstable acoustics of what she wrote, Rin pushed other thoughts, _why should I care these are my thoughts anyway nobody else is going to see them. _The girl remarked to herself. Finishing up, Rin closed the little book and putting it back under the mattress put the pen back in the drawer of the nightstand and sat on the bed looking up at the ceiling for a moment before rustling through her bag for her phone. Flipping the phone open she saw a message from Lui, going back and forth on whether she should call him or not Rin finally decided to call him to see what he wanted from her.

Dialing in Lui's number, Rin pressed the call button and waited for him to pick up the call. It rang three times before she got an answer. "Hello?" a youthful male voice said through the phone, "Hi Lui its Rin." she said in response, "Hello Rin how's it going?" said Lui on the other line. "Pretty much the same like any other day not too much going on here what about over there?" asked Rin. Lui went to a different school than Rin and Len did that was on the other side of the city and Lui wasn't around much because of work and other responsibilities that he was carrying. "Well well, I got the day off tomorrow so not pretty bad." Lui said quite happily, "That's awesome." Rin returned, "Well I thought you would want to go to the carnival with me tomorrow since we haven't seen each other in quite a while." offered Lui, "The carnival?" asked Rin, "Yeah the carnival, there's no school tomorrow remember?" replied Lui, Rin remembered that there wasn't any school but she forgot for what. "Sure I'll go what time do you want to meet up?" asked Rin. "I'll meet you at your house at ten, is that okay?" said Lui, "That is fine with me." said Rin. "Okay then I'll see you tomorrow." Lui said, "See you tomorrow." said Rin. Rin hung up the phone, Lui was the closest friend Rin had even more close to her than Len her own twin brother_. 'Lui's very intelligent he'll understand what I'm going through.' _remarked Rin in her mind. '_and he's probably the only one that will support my having a relationship with Zeno.'_ Rin continued to herself.

Pulling the covers of her bed, Rin laid her bed with her head against a pillow; a breeze came through the window and Rin feeling cold put on a shirt before laying back into bed. Again looking up at the ceiling, Rin fell into deep thought about the trip tomorrow with Lui. It would be good for her to get out and spend time with someone else than just her brother. Sometimes it made her feel lame when not being as social as her friends were. She didn't care too much for being around a lot of people; one or two was enough for her. She knew that was one of those people was Lui…and the other…was Zeno.


	5. Joy and Sadness

Chapter five: Joy and Sadness

Early the next morning Rin got up and putting on her usual clothing went downstairs to wait for Lui. Sitting down the couch Rin flipping open her phone and looked to see if she received any recent messages that morning. _'If I'm going to have fun it's important that nothing bothers me.'_ Rin mentally noted to herself, no messages showed up on her phone and Rin felt a wind of relief come over her face. Looking at the clock, Rin saw that it was 8:30. _'Lui's not going to be here for another hour and a half so what I'm I going to do then?'_ thought Rin to herself. Getting up from the couch Rin walked back upstairs and reentering her room saw a cluttered mess on the floor.

Cleaning the mess, Rin put everything back in its original place without a second thought. Putting a set of CD's on a small desk Rin sat down bored and thought about what to do next to kill time. It went by slowly and it felt like forever. Thinking about what to do, Rin went into Len's room and searching through his backpack found his IPod, "Good he left it in his bag this will give me something to do while I wait for Lui to show up." she said out loud. Closing the door behind her Rin went back into her own room and sitting in a desktop computer chair Rin pressed the power button on Len's IPod and scrolled through the playlists. "AC/CD, Breaking Benjamin, Chemical Romance…" muttered Rin scrolling to find a playlist that she liked. Continuing to scroll for a few minutes…Len had made a ton of music playlists for himself of all artists and musical genres…Rin finally found a playlist that suited her musical tastes. "Rocker's Medley: The Music of Breaking Benjamin, Linkin Park, Disturbed, and Others" murmured Rin dictating the title of the playlist to herself.

Scrolling through the list of artists that were included in the playlist. Rin selectively choose to play "In the End" by Linkin Park. Rin put the song list on shuffle and began to listen letting go of everything around her.

Leaning back into the chair Rin listened to the song which brought her a spurt of joy when becoming immersed with the mood that the lyrics created. As the song continued her mind went back to Zeno…the song…or more specifically the lyrics of the song brought the thought of Zeno to her mind:

_One thing, I don't know why  
It doesn't even matter how hard you try  
Keep that in mind, I designed this rhyme  
To remind myself how  
I tried so hard  
In spite of the way you were mocking me  
Acting like I was part of your property  
Remembering all the times you fought with me  
I'm surprised it got so (far)  
Things aren't the way they were before  
You wouldn't even recognize me anymore  
Not that you knew me back then  
But it all comes back to me  
In the end_

These lines threw Rin into an emotional stall causing her to become upset over the recent events that took place in school the past couple of days. To Rin these lines perfectly described the situation that she was…that she put herself in. Having the song lyrics buzzing in her head, Rin kept repeating one line over and over in her head that particularly spoke to her, singing in a monotonous tone.

_Acting like I was part of your property_

Rin found this line of the song somewhat akin to her desires and wants as an amorous young woman. While the line just before that reminded her of Zeno's cold indifference to her advances. With both lines pulling her emotions in different directions after a few moments the effects on her mood died out quietly. These kinds of emotional 'roller coasters' seemed to happen more often than before since music as an excellent therapeutic medicine although she wasn't an addict like most people were especially her brother.

Continuing to listen to the playlist, Rin fell into a trance with the music that seemed to make the time fly by with a blink of the eyes. After drowning herself in music for about an hour Rin pulled the headphones out of her ears and placed the IPod on her bed while she stretched to loosen up her muscles before she went out walking at the carnival. "Better safe than sorry." she said to herself. After stretching her limbs the doorbell rang. "I'm coming." Rin hollered out from her room. Standing up she walked out into the hallway closing her bedroom door. Hurrying down the staircase and to the door Rin opened it which revealed a young man with short orange hair who was wearing a white coat with matching shorts, blue shorts, and red boots standing on the doorstep. With the exception of his deep voice he could almost be mistaken for a young girl.

His mouth curved into a small smile as he saw Rin opening the door. "Hey Rin you ready to go?" he asked, "Yeah Lui just give me a few seconds." replied Rin. Turning and walking through the hallway Rin opened the closet door and grabbing a small red bag from the closet although with her phone and a bit of cash for spending Rin locked the door to the house.

"Today's going to be a good day I just know it." said Lui still smiling

Walking from the house they sat down on a bench at the end of the sidewalk and waited for a bus to take them to the carnival.

* * *

Zeno walked up the stairs and to his room, pushing the door open Luka was sitting cross-legged on the floor looking over a comic. "You like to read a lot don't you?" asked Luka looking up at Zeno. "You know I don't do much else Luka." Zeno replied sitting on the edge of the bed next to Luka. Luka smiled to herself flipping through the comic before closing the book and putting back on the small bookshelf. "Zeno what happened at school the other day? You know when you were helping to clean up after school." questioned Luka somewhat intensely looking at her best friend. Zeno went red at this question not wanting to recall all that went on with Rin, not wanting to remember that he WILLING engaged Rin and her activities that night. But then again lying made him uncomfortable so he found no way to escape the predicament that he was in.

First of all wanting to know why Luka was so curious he returned, "Why do you want to know Luka it's not like I was partying and drinking alcohol or anything to that effect.", "Well you kind of blew me off and insulted me as well so in exchange I should be able to ask a simple question if I want." retorted Luka ignoring the defensive tone of his question. Zeno couldn't argue with Luka's situational logic nor did he want to anyway. "Fair enough." he said. "Well the lucky yet awkward thing was that I wasn't doing any of the work alone even though that should have been fairly obvious." he said, "Who was there with you?" Luka continued her integration, "Ummm Len and Rin." said Zeno uncomfortably adjusting his position on the bed.

"The twins were there with you?" Luka asked jumping up on the bed next to Zeno. Moving a little away from her to get some space Zeno continued, "Yes they were there and we worked together although not with equal comfort at least on my part." Sitting up against the wall to straighten herself Luka asked, "You were uncomfortable?" Zeno replied, "You know that Luka everything that's been going on for a while in regards to my relations with Rin has made me uncomfortable I mean the whole thing is over with but still…" he responded. "Well what happened though you're going around the point." Luka pointed out to Zeno.

"Okay, okay I'm getting there." said Zeno. Luka seemed to be very interested in what happened and Zeno took notice of it particularly…certain thoughts began to take hold in his mind but he knew he dare not take any chance in this moment yet. "When we were finishing up for the night Rin asked me to stay behind to clear up the whole situation with the letters and then…" Zeno hesitated to continue on somewhat embarrassed to do so. "Continue on." remarked Luka. "And then she threw her arms around me and kissed me." Zeno finally said, "She kissed you!" shouted Luka. Zeno was surprised at this outburst of emotion from Luka which he didn't expect at all. "Luka are you okay what's wrong?" he asked concerned. "Ummm nothing sorry, what happened after she kissed you?" questioned Luka angrily.

"No tell me why your angry first." replied Zeno wondering why Luka was so angry. He found this to be very unlike her and wondered what had set her off in this way. "Like I said its nothing." replied Luka repeating herself.

He decided not to push the issue further and yielded to her request albeit unwillingly. "When I was going to leave since all the work was finished she asked me to stay and give her one more kiss." he said. "And you refused." Luka concluded somewhat in a half-statement, half-question tone. "No I didn't refuse. I kissed her again…however I stuck my tongue down her throat since I couldn't resist." Zeno said, "COULDN'T RESIST?!" shouted Luka at the top of her lungs almost screaming at Zeno who fell back into his pillow from this second outburst.

"Luka tell me what's wrong you look agitated?" asked Zeno again, "Well you should be kissing girls you don't know or even hated you for that matter, Zeno you're so stupid!" Luka responded. Picking his head up Zeno stayed silent for a moment before saying anything. "Luka I don't understand why you're acting this way…are you jealous?" questioned Zeno wanting to know how Luka felt but she wouldn't give him an answer. She didn't want him to know how this all affected her. She wanted to stay strong but she couldn't do that here…in his house. "You know what." she finally said, "I'm leaving I can't stay here any longer I'm too upset." Zeno tried to stop her from going out, "Don't leave Luka." said Zeno trying to block the door, "Let's talk about this." he continued, but Luka wouldn't have it she was too angry. Softening her composure and lowering her voice she spoke, "Zeno I'm not angry with you I'm upset with myself…I'm just upset with myself please let me leave." Luka asked, reluctantly Zeno moved aside to let her pass._  
_

After Luka left, Zeno somewhat upset with these events found the same thoughts that entered his mind only moments before inserting themselves back into his psyche. "Is she…?" he asked himself out loud not finishing what he thought to say even to himself in this private setting. "No she couldn't be…besides she prefers to play her cards more strategically." His mouth curved to demonstrate a smile. "I need to take a walk." he told himself. Deciding where to go he thought about going to the carnival. Grabbing a jacket from his closet he then grabbed his new IPhone and slipped it into the right pocket of the jacket. Slipping on his shoes, Zeno closed the door behind him and headed off for the carnival.

* * *

Opening the door to her house, Luka had returned home to a nice, quiet house. Her parents have been gone from this life and she had the whole house to herself in the mean time. Taking her coat off and putting it on the coat rack Luka headed straight into her room. Closing the door slightly although not the whole way she sat down in a chair in front of her computer. Like Rin, Luka was a diarist but her diary was modern and up to date. Pulling up a new blank document she began to type out her thoughts:

14/04/20XX

Dear journal,

I can't believe he kissed her…I CAN'T BELIEVE HE KISSED THAT GIRL!

What made him think he had the right to do so…to do that to me! I care about him so much and he has the gall to kiss another woman. It makes me so mad! But then again Zeno is weak to a certain extent being that he is of course a boy. I mean he is my best friend. If I asked him to do something I know he would do…he would do it for me. So why should I worry myself that he will wander off and do something else stupid. He was stupid in agreeing to kiss that girl but he was probably coerced into doing it. Yes that's it…it was coercion. I know it was—

Sincerely,

Luka Megurine

Luka left the entry in an unfinished state not wanting to continue on in this way. Adding the journal entry to her electronic dairy she grabbed on flash drive and uploading the dairy to the dairy to the flash drive she shoved the little device into a small drawer she threw herself on the bed and lying on the pillow reached underneath it and pulled out a little doll.

It was male and had both mahogany hair and matching colored eyes wearing a purple shirt and baggy cargo pants with sneakers and fingerless gloves. It was a doll-like representation of Zeno Mikishigi.

She cradled the doll in her arms holding it close while she fell soundly to sleep letting all of her negative emotions go which had suffocated her soul.

* * *

The carnival was not too far from the city. It only took Rin and Lui ten minutes to get to the carnival travelling by bus. There were food stands, rides, games, and all that any one might expect from a carnival. It was also a nice day with occasional breezes and everything seemed to be going very well for everyone involved even Rin and Lui.

They rode rides and ate carnival food which helped to increase the good time that they were having for the both of them. _'It's been a while since I have been to something like this.'_ noted Rin to herself about the liveliness of the carnival and the people there. It was an especially large carnival and there seemed to be a lot to do. Lui was shoving a large roll of cotton candy in his mouth as they were walking. After finishing it off he threw the paper cone away in a random trash bin and then asked, "What you want to do Rin?" Looking at Lui, Rin shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not one to attend an event like this frequently and I do very little anyway. Let's just keep on walking for a bit to see if we can find anything that we could do okay?" said Rin. Lui didn't object to that idea.

Walking through the grassy area for a bit, they began to food through various food stands, the smells made Rin very hungry. Pulling out a bit of money from the bag she brought Rin bought a candy apple from a stand they were near. "That stuff's going to stick to the roof of your mouth." laughed Lui while Rin was eating the apple because she seemed to have trouble chewing it with ease. Walking through the carnival Rin continued to eat the apple slowly while Lui walked next to her. Finishing up the apple, Rin and Lui soon came to the end of the carnival having walked from one to the other. As they walked, Rin from the corner of her eyes saw a young man with mahogany hair and eyes pass by her. _'Zeno?!' _Rin thought to herself. Looking back at the same man Rin saw that it was Zeno. A smile brightened her face as she saw him. She wanted to follow him but she didn't want to leave Lui alone by himself.

"Hey Lui." said Rin, "Do you mind if I go off by myself for a bit?" Lui looked at her and said, "Not at all, you just give me a call when you want to meet up again okay I'm just going to keep on walking." Lui said, "Okay then thanks." said Rin graciously.

Turning around the other way, Rin started walking with the intent on finding Zeno whom she lost in the crowd. Starting to walk she was patient but then as some time passed and there seemed to be no progression Rin started to lose her cool having walked through the entire carnival a second time. She almost gave up when she noticed Zeno at a game booth. Rin ran to try to catch up with him before she lost him again in the crowd.

Finishing at the booth Zeno was about to walk off when he saw Rin coming toward him. "Zeno! There you are have you been avoiding me?" asked Rin coming over to him. "Oh hello Rin." Zeno said greeting her, '_She's the last person that I want to see right now.'_ he thought considering that she was the object of discussion that made Luka angry with him only hours ago. "How are you?" she asked coming up to him. "I'm quite good how are you?" Zeno asked in return. "Sad I didn't see you at school yesterday did something happen?" replied Rin. "There was just too much going on for me to handle another day at school and I needed to take a day. Why you miss me?" asked Zeno teasingly. "Of course I did." remarked Rin with joking. Trying to walk away Zeno tried to get away from Rin who just ended up following him everywhere he went. Grappling onto his arm, Rin refused to let go. "I'm not letting go until we talk." she said. Knowing he wasn't going to get rid of her anytime soon Zeno agreed even though he knew he shouldn't have done so.

Rin took him by the hand and led him away from the carnival to a quieter place where they could talk in private. They sat under a large oak tree that gave them shade. While Zeno sat and stretched himself out Rin sat next to him and locked arms with him. "Rin please let go of me. We're here to talk remember." Zeno said reminding Rin, "What is it that you want from me?" he asked. Not looking at Zeno, Rin replied, "I want us to be together." Heaving in a big breath of air, Zeno responded, "However I don't want to be with you. You know that what happened back at school was a mistake." Silent for a moment, Rin said "I don't believe, it wasn't a mistake I kissed you and you kissed me back even though I asked you to, you were the one that choose to kiss me."

'_I can't argue with her about that since I did kiss her and I did it willingly'_ thought Zeno, "You're right about that Rin I did kiss you and I did of my own free will, but still it shouldn't have happened like that." said Zeno stopping for a moment before continuing to speak, "Maybe if it had happened in a more appropriate place then it might have been different, my reactions might have been different and I would have been more considerate to your feelings." Rin laid her head on his chest, "But Zeno…" she didn't know what else to say. She knew she wanted to say something to him she just didn't know what to say. "Rin look at me." Zeno commanded. Rin looked at him like he wanted her to and he said, "But we can be friends and I mean that…like you said Rin we can be friends." Rin smiled at him, "Okay then we'll be friends." repeated Rin straightening herself against the tree next to Zeno. "You okay?" he asked her wrapping his arm around her shoulders, "Yeah I'm fine. You're telling me the truth right?" she asked him. "I'm serious." he responded. Zeno was telling the truth and that somewhat surprised him. Rin was a nice girl and he found no problem in wanting to just be friends with her but he was going to make sure that it went no further than just being friends.

"Do you know what time it is?" asked Rin, checking his IPhone Zeno said, "Five o' clock." Surprised by the time Rin got up, "Really its five already, wow I got to get back." watching Rin pick up her things to go, Zeno said in a tease, "where do you have to run off to so quickly?"

"I need to get home and I came with a friend and I need to let him know that I need to get home. So that we can travel back together, I don't want to ditch him and look like a terrible person." said Rin. "That's fair." he replied to her. About to run off Rin stopped herself, looking at Zeno she smiled and said, "I'll see you later." Zeno lightly chuckled, "Bye Rin." Lying under the tree by himself Zeno took in the scene and waited for a few minutes before walking off to leave the carnival and head home.


	6. Doll House

Chapter six: Doll House

It had been a few days since Luka last saw Zeno after the semi fight that they had with each other…sort of. Luka was walking down the shopping district of the city. There were various shopping centers, restaurants, and other entertainment places that drew people in to spend their money on various knick-knacks or wasteful items that they could find that they thought they might want…although they won't need.

Luka walked aimlessly downtown trying to figure what to do or where to go but finding no answers to these lonely questions. She was carrying a messenger bag along with her and as she kept on walking Luka slipped her hand in the bag and stroked her hand across a figurine that was stuffed in the bag. It was the same doll that she snuggled with the night before while she slept. She was very skilled in doll-making and the dolls that she made were usually more elaborate than those found in traditional toy stores or the doll shops that she passed by when she was little and she made a small business out of it for a little while; as she kept on walking Luka passed by a manga café. Relieved that she found a place of solace and somewhere to sit down Luka went in.

Taking a small seat in one of the corners of the café, Luka put her bag on top of the table and began to search through it. While preoccupied with this activity someone came up behind her. "Hi Luka! I'm surprised to see you here." Luka turning around saw Miku standing right behind her. The turquoise haired girl had a smile on her face. "Hey Miku how's it going?" Luka replied in a preoccupied tone. "I'm good just walking around what are you doing here? You not usually one to come downtown to often if that's what I know." continued Miku sitting down across from Luka. "Well you know I just needed to do something today." continued Luka shifting through the bag, "What are you looking for?"asked Miku curiously to her friend. "I'm trying to find my IPhone in this ocean of a bag." Luka responded.

Searching through the bag for a couple of minutes Luka finally found her IPhone buried at the bottom of the bag. Closing the bag, Luka put the device on the table for a moment. "You going to be here for a bit?" asked Luka, "Yeah why?" asked Miku in return. "I just need some company, you know someone to talk to." remarked Luka, "Sure you I'm your friend why is something bothering you because it seems like it?" "Well…" Luka began to say but she stopped herself not wanting Miku to find out her deep dark secret as she considered. "You know what I'll be right back I need something to read." commented Luka walking off by herself. Miku wondered what that was all about.

Feeling like she needed some gum Miku began searching through the large messenger bag for some. "She won't mind it." Miku said to herself quietly. Feeling and touching upon the things in the bag in order to recognize what was contained inside it. Miku's hand soon reached the most prized possession in the bag: the doll. Interested to see it, Miku pulled it out of the bag and observed it. Miku thought the doll very interesting and the work very detailed and excellent. She didn't who the person was that the doll represented because Luka usually crafted dolls after specific people and she didn't know this man since she wasn't around any other of Luka's friends to know them apart from Luka.

Pondering the meaning of this little doll Luka reappeared and shall Miku in possession of the doll she sought to keep hidden. "Miku what are you doing?" asked Luka coming up to the booth. "Oh Luka sorry I just found this doll in your bag and I wanted to see it…did I do something wrong…I didn't mean to snoop I was curious." Miku said, "Its fine but can I have it back though it is my property." said Luka, "What is…the doll or the boy?" teased Miku not wanting to give up the doll so easily. Luka's face went red. "That's none of your business Miku now please give it back it's very important to me." Luka replied holding out her hand to receive the doll from Miku. "Tell me why it's important then, I want to know." returned Miku with inquiry turning the doll over to its rightful owner.

Sitting back down across from Miku, Luka held the doll close to her breast protectively and not wanting to let it go. "Now tell me where did you get that doll?" asked Miku stupidly already knowing full well that Luka crafted the doll herself. "Well I made it myself." replied Luka redundantly to Miku's redundant question. "And who is the person?" Miku continued asking, "The person…ummm?" Luka muttered out. "Luka really don't play dumb with me I'm not going to judge you or anything I just want to know." said Miku trying to get Luka to trust her.

Deciding to trust Miku with her little secret, Luka confessed, "It's a boy I've been in love with." responded Luka embarrassedly not wanting to say it but having no other choice in the matter. "Luka! You're in love how interesting." mused Miku to her friend. Luka flashed an angry look at her, "Well does he know?" questioned Miku, "He doesn't know although he is one of my closest friends." commented the pinked-haired woman her voice somewhat saddened at this prospect. "What is it you seem sad Luka." stated Miku observing Luka intently with her eyes. "It's just…he seems be involved with another woman." "Well how do you know that?" asked Miku. "He told me Miku…he told me that he kissed her." said Luka "So you're assuming that he is in a relationship with this other woman?" questioned Miku. "Well I don't see it any other way." replied Luka trying to keep up with Miku's rapid series of questions.

"Well why you just talk to him about it, it might all in your head you know." Miku pointed out. Luka sighed, "Yeah you might be right." "By the way do you know who this woman is anyway?" "Yeah it's Rin Kagamine." answered Luka, "What Len's sister?" asked Miku. "Yeah that girl." commented Luka jealously. "You might be taking this whole thing out of context you face is getting red and you're getting flushed." Miku said again. "Well can we stop talking about this I'm getting really uncomfortable okay?" asked Luka, "Please stop asking questions its really becoming annoying." Miku crossing her arms on the table said, "Okay sorry Luka I didn't it was bothering you this much. Is there anything that I can do to make it better?" offering her support.

Luka heaved out another sigh, "No thanks this is a battle I have to fight on my own." she said to Miku. Grabbing her bag off the table Luka put the doll back inside the bag and sat it next to her. "One more thing." Miku said, "Okay." said Luka giving her permission to do so. "What is the purpose of that doll you carry around with you?" she asked.

"It keeps him close to me and I feel like I'm near him as well as. I'm able to express my feelings in a way that is fulfilling or at least I can entertain thoughts of having what I want…it's basically a representation of my most wanted dream…what my heart desires most." Luka tried not to smile…not in front of Miku.

"That's deep Luka." Miku stated, "Thanks but I don't want to talk about this anymore." returned Luka. "Well if you need help I'll help you." Miku said to make Luka feel better. Miku looked at the watch on her wrist and noticed the time. "I got to go Luka are you sure there isn't anything you want me to do before I go?" Miku offered. "No I'm okay." said Luka. Miku left without saying anything else concerned that she might continue to bother Luka if she did.

Adjusting her position in the booth Luka bumped next to the comic that she had picked out before returning to the booth. Picking it up with her hand Luka examined it closely to see what it was. The comic was one of those consumption romances that sold for very cheap being written for quick consumption and nothing else. Luka sometimes read these comics out of boredom and for no good reason. Kicking her feet up on the opposite seat of the booth Luka opened the comic and began to read.


	7. Coins and a Fox

Chapter seven: Coins and a Fox

Zeno yawned having gone to take a walk that he hoped would clear his head. He wished that everything would be fine but it wasn't that way…it wasn't as he hoped. Luka seemed to somewhat be MIA but that was also because he hadn't tried to call her or anything related to that matter; preferring to want to stay silent until she called him and wanted to speak up about how she felt about everything that seemed to be going on between Zeno and Rin. The rage that she expressed to him seemed to be bottled up…like it was something that was being held in for some time rather than being a flip of the coin instant outburst. _'No Luka's not one to be like that she's more expressive of her feelings.'_ thought Zeno while he walked down a random sidewalk.

On the other hand was Rin; he agreed to be her friend since he didn't want to be romantically involved with her or anything that leaned or inclined a relationship of that kind. _'Rin is cute and nice but I want Luka; Luka is a woman!'_ Zeno mentally screamed to himself as he began to walk down a crosswalk.

Paying no attention to the road in front of him Zeno adjusted the gloves that he wore making them slightly tighter. Looking ahead of him laid the abandon industrial area of the city. Large forgotten buildings with broken windows, large bricks of cemented concrete lay about the ruined buildings, broken wooden planks, and large stone cylinders stacked up._ 'I love coming here; it's always so nice and quiet.'_

Walking through and about the abandon walkways that connected building to building, Zeno stumbled up an abandoned Genetics laboratory that read:

"Huh they must have been working a on a massive scale." stated Zeno curiously as he read the sign. Deciding to follow his curiosity and banging on the double doors with his elbow Zeno got the doors to unlock. "Ow! That hurt." Zeno said in a low tone rubbing his elbow which became sore. Other than the sound of his own voice the only other noise that penetrated through the infrastructure of the science building was a low but strong breeze. Pushing the doors opened Zeno entered the large building; inside there was a staircase that led to the upper levels on one side of the building; through a door in the wall there was a number of items everywhere which made it evident that the building was indeed abandoned.

However…there was something that made Zeno feel…feel like he was not alone…like something was there with him…watching him. Shaking the feeling off he began to walk through the building. Walking down the hall Zeno began to peek through the windows of doors to see what was inside. _'Seems like ordinary science laboratories that are found in school…then again this is only the first floor the complex stuff is probably on the second and third levels.'_ thought the mahogany-eyed boy continuing to walk down the hall before ascending to the upper levels of the building.

Entering the stairwell Zeno walked up to the second floor; the second floor was much more complexly laid out more so than the first floor or at least the design was. There were large testing rooms where genetic work could take place without any prior disturbances from other people. Rooms that were identical to operation rooms, rooms that looked like suspended animation chambers where people could be stored and studied at the use and benefit of the corporation that owned that building. A particular chill ran down Zeno's spine the rooms reminding him of a sci-fi horror film.

Ignoring the feeling once again Zeno entered the stairwell once more to go up to the third floor; however the third more than the first or second floor was drastically more complex than either of the two prior levels. It was more scientific than the first but was much more horrific than the second. The third floor was very dark except for the few beams of light poking in from the outside and what those few beams of light revealed was not optimistic. 'It seems like whoever owned this building conducted unethical experiments…but what kind of experiments.' thought Zeno observantly. Stepping through the maze of corridors and rooms Zeno made extensive mental notes of what he saw there. 'There seems to be a number of bloodstained tables' he noted with particular importance. Aided by the few beams of light invading the room Zeno saw shattered needles and cracked IV bottles probably sedation but Zeno wondered for what. Suddenly the feelings that he was being watched…the first feeling he had when he entered the building…the feeling that made him truly uncomfortable about being in this place.

Wanting to continue on Zeno kept on moving not wanting to stay in one place for too long as something kept on troubling him…ever since he first set foot in this building. Walking toward a large observation room he looked through the large rectangular window and thought he saw something move. _'Huh what was that?'_ thought Zeno intensely about what he saw. Having walked through the maze of rooms Zeno was about to head downstairs to leave before he heard the squeak of a door that soundly like someone was there with him.

Turning around and walking back, Zeno walked to find the door that he heard opening a few moments before. The opened door led to what seemed to be the attic of the building or at least another level that Zeno had not noticed of before making his first round through the halls. Stepping slowly and silently as he could up the stairs to the highest floor of the building he soon found himself in a bright light room. Looking out of the windows Zeno saw that it was sunset; the sky was becoming an orangish-pink color. There were windows on all four walls of the room and the staircase was built into the floor. The entire area seemed to be a storage room as there were tables and chairs upon one another and various machines stacked and complied together in various corners of the floor. Walking around and scouring the junk that lay about the room the mahogany-haired boy saw a small brown bag from the corner of his eye. Looking over in that direction he confirmed that it was a brown bag. Going over in that direction he picked it up and heard the sound of coins that seemed to be contained in the bag. Untying the string he found there to be number of ancient coins. _'These might be worth something.'_ thought Zeno somewhat blankly. Not bothering to play attention to the things around him Zeno didn't notice the figure coming toward him which had been standing behind him for some moments while he was absorbed in his own thoughts.

Zeno was knocked to the ground hitting his back against the leg of a table. "Ow!' he shouted out loud. Bending his head down for a moment, Zeno used his hand to stand up trying to regain his balance. Looking in the direction that he had been hit…the figure seemed to be sitting on one of the unstacked tables hidden by a shadow. Somehow Zeno did not feel the presence that was there with him to be so menacing at he had instantly thought.

Deciding not to move as to cause injury to him again Zeno waited for the other presence to make the first move; the figure seemed to take notice of Zeno's actions and began to move out of the shadow to reveal itself to him.

Coming out of the shadow into the sunset light the figure's appearance was shown: The figure was of a young male about five feet, eight inches wearing a plain white t-shirt with a long dark blue sleeve t-shirt underneath; he wore tan cargo shorts with black and white converse sneakers. His hair was shoulder length and shaggy and he had bangs going to the right of his face and then continuing upwards. His eyes were the color of electric blue however his left eye was a cloudy and somewhat murky blue and a vertical scar went across his face that affirmed that he was blind in that eye. What was most notable about the young man was that he had fox-like whiskers that graced his cheeks and a fox tail that seemed to be moving slowly moving almost with the flow of a stream or river indicating that he seemed to be calmed.

"Who are you or…what are you?" asked Zeno curiously to the young man who stood across from him. The young man turned around to the table and opening up a notebook that laid on the table he pulled out a pen from his pocket and began to write something down on a clean page. Turning back around to face Zeno the silver-haired man walked over to him with the notebook in his hand and putting his finger on the page that he wrote on wanted Zeno to read what he had wrote down. Looking at the page Zeno read what the young man wrote:

'_**My name is Hiroku; I am a human…more like a human experiment. As you can see and I believe you already know I am blind in my left eye. The whiskers and tail are another story and the reason why I am writing in this notebook is because my vocal cords were surgically removed during experimentation…I am not deaf I can understand you very clearly…I'm just very lonely.'**_

Finishing Zeno looked up at Hiroku who smiled somewhat sadly to the mahogany-eyed boy who stood before him. "You have no friends?" asked Zeno curiously. Hiroku again wrote down the answer:

'_**No…well once I did but that was a long time ago. You're the first person I've met in awhile.'**_

"I'm sorry about that." replied Zeno.

'_**It wasn't your fault or your doing at all.'**_wrote Hiroku in the notebook for Zeno to read.

"Were you abused?" Zeno asked wondering

'_**Yes I was…the good thing though is that I don't care about it at all…I'm just not angry…you know what they call optimism.'**_ wrote Hiroku with a smile.

Zeno chuckled, looking out of the windows he saw that it was becoming darker and he wanted to get home. "Not to be rude or anything Hiroku but I have to…or more like want to get home." said Zeno feeling kind of guilt for leaving him alone in this abandoned building. Hiroku wrote something down very quickly in the notebook, his tail whipping back and forth quite fast. _**'Do you mind if I come along…I have nowhere to go…as I told you I'm very lonely and I don't have a single friend.'**_

"Sure I need another friend anyway." stated Zeno, "By the way are these your coins?" _**'Yeah sorry for knocking you over before I didn't know who you were so I was taking precautions…but those are mine…by the way you didn't give me your name.'**_ "Zeno Mikishigi." said Zeno answering Hiroku's question while handing the coins back to him. Hiroku followed behind Zeno as they exited the large abandoned building to abode at Zeno's home.

Walking from the large abandoned industrial site to the inner city they communicated back and forth with Hiroku scribbling in his notebook and Zeno responding in natural speech. Zeno looked at the large moon and saw its brightness in the sky. _'The moon is unusually large tonight.'_ Zeno commented to himself. They continued to walk for a bit before Zeno spoke, "We should be there in just a bit you okay?" asked Zeno to Hiroku who nodded his head in return. Beginning to recognize familiar streets Zeno sped up his walking a bit Hiroku noticed this and sped up to match Zeno's pace. With Hiroku following behind Zeno they soon reached his house. Pulling the keys out of his cargo pants pocket Zeno opened the door and walked in with Hiroku close behind. Closing the door behind them Zeno threw the backpack on one of the chairs and took off his jacket and gloves throwing them on the same chair. Hiroku sat down on the couch placing the notebook on the table. "You want anything Hiroku?" asked Zeno, _**'No…but do you mind if I use the bathroom to take a shower?'**_ wrote Hiroku in the notebook for Zeno to read. "I don't mind go right ahead." said Zeno putting away his jacket and gloves. "The bathroom's upstairs though." Zeno pointed out.

While Hiroku went upstairs to take a shower Zeno grabbed a snack and going into his room closed the door. "Hmmm I think I thought about what I was supposed to do." said Zeno jumping on the bed, "Oh yeah." he said to himself. Zeno wanted to call Luka and wanted to check up on her to see if she was okay; he also missed her company and wanted to see her. However he wanted to wait for her to call first…but he really could not wait anymore. Although he wanted to call her he didn't noting that it was late out and that she'd probably be asleep by now. Looking at his phone Zeno saw a text message from Rin. Thinking it over Zeno decided not to open it. "I'll deal with all this tomorrow." Zeno said to himself.

Hearing the bathroom door open, he opened the bedroom door and saw Hiroku dressed in the same clothes that he had on. Zeno went downstairs to give Hiroku his notebook and pen which he left on the coffee table in the living room. Giving the items back to Hiroku Zeno led him to the guest bedroom where he would sleep. "Is there anything you need Hiroku?" asked Zeno hospitably. Hiroku nodded his head he seemed to be tired. "Alright then I'm going to go to bed I need some sleep." said Zeno scratching the back of his head and laughing , leaving Zeno closed the door behind him and went to his own room.

Hiroku sat down on the bed and thought to himself, _'Hmmm Zeno seems nice…he didn't freak out when he saw me that has to be a plus…it's a plus in my book…besides he's the first connection that I have made in a long time considering what I am or what I was made to be.'_ Hiroku thought to himself before turning the light off to go to sleep.

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**I want to give a special thank you to MyLugiaTamer who allowed me to borrow the character of Hiroku to make my story better and more interesting :)**


	8. ITouch for the Mute

Chapter eight: ITouch for the Mute

Zeno awoke the next morning quite early and getting dressed looked at the clock on his bedroom wall. _'Hmmm it's only eight o' clock?'_ thought Zeno in surprise. He wanted to go out but he remembered Hiroku sleeping in the guest bedroom. Since he couldn't communicate and only had the notebook to write on for any form of communication it would be impossible for Zeno to call Hiroku and let him know that he went out for a while because it was impossible for him to use the phone since his vocal cords were removed. "Then again he could just text me more people text nowadays anyway…that would probably be the best possibility would be just to get Hiroku or at least another IPod Touch." since the Touch was basically everything an IPhone was without the phone and Hiroku would have no reason to use a phone the way he was.

Zeno having gotten himself dressed and ready for the day went downstairs and sat in one of the chairs and looked through the messages on his phone. He remembered the text message that Rin left him last night, 'Eh I really don't want to talk to her right now…she's caused me too much stress.' commented Zeno mentally. Continuing to scroll through his messages Zeno saw a recent message that was sent from Luka; eager to read the message he opened the text and read what Luka had sent to him:

TEXT:

Hey Zeno I wanted to check up and see if you were okay. Listen I know I acted up about everything that happened the other day but I didn't want to upset you and…and I hope I didn't…you are very important to me and I hope you will text me back because I want us to talk just me and you…please text me back…I'm really anxious and I want to see you.

—Luka

Zeno thought about it for a few moments debating whether or not he should call her. He knew the answer to this question but he still wanted to entertain the idea of an emotional struggle even though no such struggle existed. Deciding to call her he picked up the phone and dialed her number with the keypad. Holding the phone up to his ear he waited; the phone buzzed three times before Luka picked up the phone. "Hello?" said Luka on the other end of the line. "Hey Luka I got your text message a minute ago." said Zeno coming right out. "Oh you did?" asked Luka in a somewhat surprised tone. "Does that mean everything's okay then?" she asked again curiously. "Yeah everything's fine but I'd rather talk on the phone it's a better form of communication than texting back and forth, it's pretty mechanical of a method." replied Zeno, "Yeah…I understand what you mean I just wanted to get a response from you to see if everything was okay since we haven't talked since the outburst that I had. I didn't want it to go that way…it was more of natural reaction." explained Luka, "I'm not mad I was waiting for you to contact first I didn't want to keep being yelled for trying to be the one to start up a conversation when you still might be mad at me." returned Zeno, "Well it seems that we are on the same page." remarked Luka on the other end. "Well do you still want us to talk?" asked Zeno, "You said you wanted to talk to me just us two are you still wanting to do that?" "Hum…yeah I still want us to talk I think it is very important for both of us." Luka said, "Do you want me to come over to your house?"

"No I'll come over to your house I think it would be much quieter over there than it is over here." remarked Zeno. It might not have been so loud at his house but also there was the situation of Hiroku, a boy who had whiskers on his face and a fox tail attached to his body Zeno wondered at how Luka would take this situation…his conclusion…she would not take it well or at least she would not understand why he was harboring a semi-experimented human being in his own home. _'Hum…maybe she might think charity…or convict me of being a mad scientist.'_ Zeno thought to himself.

"Alright I'll see you when you get here." Luka stated somewhat pleasantly. "Okay then I'll be over soon. Bye." Zeno said, "Bye." Luka responded. Hanging up the phone Zeno sat in his bed for a few moments looking out the window before getting up and walking out of his room. Walking into the hallway the guest bedroom door opened and Hiroku came out of the room dressed and with the notebook in his hand. Going up to Hiroku, Zeno asked him, "Are you okay by yourself?" Opening the notebook, Hiroku began to write his response. _**'Oh yeah I'm okay…I know what to do. Why do you ask?' **_"I need to go out for a bit…but I probably won't be out long. However in your condition I wanted to make sure you were awake before I tried to go off into the blue…since there probably no way I'll be able to contact you before I get home." Zeno said, _**'How long do you think you will be gone for?'**_Hiroku wrote, "About two or three hours." replied Zeno trying to estimate the time he would be gone for. _**'Yep I'll be fine here; however can you get me something though while you're out?'**_ Hiroku wrote down.

"Of course, what do you need?" he asked, _**'A sketch book to draw inside of.' **_"You draw?" asked Zeno surprised, _**'Hey everybody has to have a hobby it's the only thing I got to do while being experimented on in the laboratories.'**_ "Guess so." Zeno replied, "Sure no problem I'll pick it up on my way back." he continued.

"Like I said I shouldn't be too long." Zeno said, Hiroku just smiled not writing anything while he followed Zeno downstairs, Hiroku sat down on the couch while Zeno put on his jacket and the same gloves he wore the night before. "Alright I'll be back soon with your book…sorry about being cooped up." Zeno replied. Hiroku made a gesture telling Zeno to not worry about it. Closing the door behind him Zeno left to go to Luka's house.

Luka walked around her house cleaning up whatever laid about. While organizing her bedroom the doorbell rang. Going downstairs Luka opened the door and found Miku standing in the doorway. "Hi Miku what are you doing here?" Luka asked curiously, "I wanted to come over to see how you were doing. I know I upset you when I found that doll of yours." said Miku. "It's fine." Luka returned somewhat anxiously. "Are you okay?" Miku asked. "No I'm okay. However I'm expecting someone and they should be showing up anytime soon." responded Luka to the turquoise-haired girl who looked disappointed. Luka felt somewhat bad at trying to get Miku to go away just so she could be alone with Zeno.

"Come on in." she continued trying to negate what she had said earlier. Closing the door when Miku walked in Luka said "Sorry I just think I'm really preoccupied right now."

"Oh no I understand I just want to know something." Miku said, "Is it the same man that you were talking about the other day to me?" "Yeah it is I asked him to come over and I really don't want anybody else here except us because I don't want rumors to be spread around and ruining a chance at having a relationship with him." Luka pointed out to the girl. "Hmmm your very serious about him aren't you?" asked Miku, "I'm very serious about him and I'm not making a joke out of all of this." Luka replied sternly toward Miku who stopped questioning Luka.

Looking around the house Luka noticed that she had finished cleaning and instead of trying to find something else to do Luka went upstairs with Mika following close behind her. Entering the moderately sized room Luka sat down on her bed and sighed. Miku sat in a purple bean bag chair that was placed in a corner of the room. "What's wrong with you?" asked Miku at the pink haired girl who was burying her face in to a pillow. However she found herself asking another stupid question. Trying to reiterate herself Miku asked again, "Are you anxious about seeing him?"

"Yes…and no." replied Luka with her face still buried in the pillow not bothering to look at Miku directly. "Why do you say that?" asked Miku. Luka pulled herself up to sit upright and crossed her legs to answer, "I'm anxious because I want to tell him and I don't know how he would react to me saying that kind of thing; on the other hand since he is my friend and as close as we are I am somewhat confident about telling him but I still don't know how he will take it." she laid her chin in the palms of her hands thoughtfully. "You're worrying herself up too much, if you keep acting like this he's definitely not going to respond the way you want him to." said Miku, "Maybe you're right." relented Luka, "Maybe I'm thinking too much about it and its getting to me." Miku laughed out loud, "Of course you are. Just relax and allow things to flow the way their suppose to and things should work out."

Zeno walked into the electronic store and having looked around the place to find what he came here for he soon found what he needed and exchanging the valued amount of money for it he soon left the store and soon entered back on the main shopping district of the city. Walking around the routes of the district for a few minutes he soon found a bench where he could rest. Sitting down on the lengthy wooden seat, he pulled out what he had bought in the store. The purchase was no more than a plain white ITouch basically the cheapest model of the device that could be sold to customers. "At least I'll be able to communicate with him." said Zeno to himself. Zeno heaved in a heavy breath of air before getting up. Standing up to walk off Zeno saw Rin and Gumi from the corner of his right eye coming his way.

Zeno had not seen Rin since their 'understanding' at the carnival a few days ago and he hadn't seen Gumi in quite a while. Walking off Zeno was hoping that he wouldn't be noticed. "Zeno!" he heard Rin's voice calling him from the other end of the sidewalk. Pausing his step Zeno turned around and seeing Rin's smiling face waved his hand in the air at her. Walking up to Rin he said, "Oh hello Rin it's been a while hasn't it?" "It sure has I was just thinking about you." Rin said smiling and taking Zeno's hand. "Hey Zeno we haven't seen you in a while." Gumi commented to Zeno, "Yeah it's been awhile." he responded. "What are you two doing around these parts." he asked them. "Just walking around trying to find something to do." replied Gumi, "Yeah why don't you come along with us?" Rin said, "Sorry Rin but I can't I got to get home I have a friend that's waiting for me and I need to bring him the stuff that I just bought." "Oh! That's disappointing?" replied Rin sadly, "Hey! Do you mind if we come along to your house?" she asked.

"Rin you know I got to get home." remarked Gumi, "Sorry Zeno it's not that I don't want to come over its just I'm busy." Zeno shrugged his shoulders in response "Hey we all have lives to manage right?" Gumi flashed a smile at him, "Thanks for understanding." "Then I'll accompany Zeno myself, is that okay?" Rin asked Zeno who tried to find a reason not to have Rin come over. "Hum…Rin I have other things to do and." "Okay then I'll help you do them…I can be a great helper." responded Rin with enthusiasm. "But you don't want to come over…I can be pretty much be a bore of a person." Zeno responded trying to keep Rin at bay. "Nonsense we're friends I should be able to come over right?" Rin asked annoyed somewhat at Zeno's apparent stalling of the situation.

Zeno knew he couldn't argue with Rin. "Okay okay you can come over." he said, Rin's stern expression dissipated into a bright smile as he said this. "Thank you." she said. Rin turned to face Gumi, "Do you mind if I go with him. I don't want to leave you to walk home by yourself." Rin said to her. Gumi seeing Rin's eagerness to leave with Zeno said, "I should be fine thanks again for helping me shop around." The green-haired girl soon left off walking in the direction that she originally came from waving at Zeno and Rin as she walked off into the distance.

Rin interlocked arms with Zeno as they began to walk back to his house. Zeno soon became anxious at first but then realized something. _'If Rin sees Hiroku, she might freak out and leave, not only that I might be able to get her off my back and stop these affections for me.'_ Zeno smiled slightly hoping this might come true, he didn't want to hurt Hiroku, but he wanted Rin's romantic infatuation to go away and he hoped that is what would eventually happen when they reach his house.

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**P.S. To the viewers of this story, I might be putting it on hiatus. The story's somewhat droning on me, not that I have writers block but I need to get my mind off this story and probably try something else before I continue on with it. A big thank to all readers and like all other writers I love reviews, it shows my writing has meaning :)**


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